"Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork"...Frito Lay Takes a Proactive Approach to Collaborate With Other Groups

In recent years, Frito Lay has recognized their local farmers through a regional and national campaign called “Lay’s Local.” The company showed their appreciation for the local communities by participating in more than 50 local market events throughout the country in 2009 which included 30 second commercial spots, national print advertising and thousands of in-store displays. 

Frito Lay reached specific local farmer investors like Brian Kirschenmann (California), Jack Wallace Sr. and Jack Wallace Jr., (Texas), and Darrell McCrum(Maine) to illustrate what impact these farmers have had on the success of the America’s “favorite potato chip.”

Another investor named Nelson Peltz owns 1% of stock in the company and back in July, he suggested that the company should buy Mondelez (Oreo cookies). That way PepsiCo can become a “global snack leader” and phase out the beverage business at the same time. PepsiCo did respond to his idea, but stated that they wouldn’t be making his idea a reality.

Frito Lay’s most recent investment is in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) industry. In June they opened a fueling station in Beloit, Wisconsin as a part of their large-scale commitment to alternative fuel. In 2012 Frito Lay submitted a competitive Request-For-Proposal (RFP) to potential partners, promising to purchase a base volume from each vendor’s station once it’s built. 

The State of Wisconsin and the Department of Energy were also present at the opening to support Frito Lay’s RFP. This new investment shows Frito Lay’s continued proactive approach in supporting natural gas and energy as well as their goal to cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions down to 50 percent by 2020.

It's Handled: Frito Lay Has All of their Bases Covered on Traditional & New Media

You know that infamous saying “out with the old and in with the new?” well from the looks of it, Frito Lay is not following that ideology in their marketing and PR practices. When it comes to the traditional and new media relations, Frito Lay is making sure all of their bases are covered. Not only do they have official accounts created for all of the go to “social media hangouts,” but they are pretty active on them too.

As involved as they are with social community spaces like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, they still make sure to engage in the traditional media methods. In Social Media News Release: An Overdue Facelift, Breckenridge talks about how a news release still holds value because it gives journalists the “who, what, when, where, and why” of a story, (Ch. 7). For journalists, finding a well-written press release—inverted pyramid style, is music to their ears. On their website under the About Us tab, Frito Lay has a whole press release archive that is organized by year and dates all the way back to 2000! Whether you’re a Stockholder, Journalist, or PR professional, you can easily find detailed information on what Frito Lay has accomplished in the last decade. Fast-forward to the present day and the Frito Lay brand is all over the timelines, walls, message boards, picture boards, and blogs, and anything else that’s social and #hip.

Note: If anything that I listed in the previous sentence went over your head, then that means you have not been fully sucked into the digital social world. You actually just might still be (dare I say it) living somewhat of normal life, kudos to you!

However, if you did understand everything that I mentioned (including the hash tag) then you are a bona fide “new media” expert, whether you proudly claim it or not. After completing my Social Media Audit on Frito Lay, I found that they either participate or get referenced on every relevant social media site out. On Twitter they’re constantly tweeting a bit ly short link on how to enter an ongoing sweepstakes or using fun hash tags like #ThrowbackThursday and #FritoGameTrivia. 

While they don’t have a Tumblr page, there is a page dedicated to all Frito Lay tagged photos. A person can follow that particular feed and look at what other consumers are posting about the brand. On Pinterest and Instagram the photos posted are either sharing valuable content on recipes or displaying their funny sense of humor with one-line phrases. 

Facebook is definitely where Frito Lay excels the most in their new media marketing. In Chapter 2, Rose and Tanton gives a breakdown of what valuable content is, saying that it should be useful, focused, clear and compelling, high quality, and genuine, (Pg. 24).  They encourage conversations through trivia-like questions, directly answer consumer’s personal questions, and post visual reminders about their contests and free prizes to over two million fans.

Everything that Frito Lay posts on social media is fun and unpredictable, it feels like one big party. The headline on their Facebook page is “Get Tailgate Ready with Frito-Lay” and one of their posts I about how the brand loves to sing in the rain (if it’s raining potato chips, of course). There’s a very upbeat and positive vibe that comes through on all of their content, which is what their target audience likes. Where the media relations’ strategy can be improved is on Twitter. While they are active on the site, they don’t really engage with their followers or mention them. It would also be great if they did more twitter related contests i.e. Tweet your best snack photo or your best Chester the Cheetah joke and win your favorite snack for a year.

But all in all, Frito Lay is doing a fantastic job at posting valuable content on ALL social media sites (not just one or two of them), while maintaining their true brand personality. I think Chester would approve.

Two Men's Dreams Creates One Successful Brand

If you don’t love Floyd “Money” Mayweather, you at least know who he is. The undefeated Welterweight Champion of the world is one of the most talked about athletes. His drive, witty humor, and genuine spirit are what make him so likeable among his peers, fans, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood. His perfect winning record is what earns him respect, but it’s his passion to be the best boxer that really solidifies his brand.

Personality is essentially the backbone to a brand’s core, mission, and passion. Bhargava describes personality as “the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.” Just like with Mayweather, passion and a personal dream is what initiated the Frito-Lay journey 81 years ago. Two men in different cities got motivated enough to start up their own potato chip businesses, respectively.

The Fritos brand was unique from the get-go because founder C.E. Doolin set his eyes on a product that no one else was paying attention to. His decision to position himself and his company early on, is what gave him the upper hand advantage on building his brand.

Herman W. Lay also had an advantage, as his company was one of the first to deliver snack foods throughout an entire city. Lay’s company can attribute its success not only to the fact that there was not much other competition, but also because he chose a good location.  

Personality is “the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.”

Doolin founded the Fritos Company based on a real life experience—an authentic story. One day he stopped into a small café in San Antonio, Texas and chose to buy a bag of corn chips. He liked the taste of the chips so much that he wasted no time contacting the manufacturer, getting his hands on the original recipe and buying the business. In no time, he was selling bags of corn chips right out of his car! If that’s not authentic, then I don’t know what is.

Frito-Lay has come a long way from selling just bags of corn chips. One of the ways they have maintained their longevity and uniqueness is through their extensive list of recipes that incorporates all of the brands into a variety of meals. From a Tostitos Chips and Herb Crusted Salmon to a gluten-free Chipotle Fritos Meringues dish, Frito-Lay has a tasty dish for any time of the day and any occasion.

On the downside, when you think of chips and snacking, you automatically label it as something negative. Chips are known to be salty, oily, and high in calories. What I think makes Frito-Lay authentic is that they don’t try to ignore the elephant in the room, instead they try to educate the consumer on how to balance your diet, eat snacks in moderation and explain why snacking doesn’t have to be a bad habit. 

On the Frito-Lay website they have a page called “Straight Talk on Snacking” where they give helpful answers to honest questions like “Doesn’t Frito-Lay make junk food? and “Won’t eating chips make me fat?” The answers that are given are truthful and simple to understand.

Speaking of simple, Frito-Lay’s mission is short and clear: make the best snacks on Earth while caring for the environment. Their talkable hook (the factor that gets people interested) is ambitious, yet sensitive which is a nice balance. Their Snack Chat Blog is also a great tool that highlights the voice and communication style of the brand.

The name Frito-Lay shows unity because two different companies were willing to give up their own individuality to create a new vision for an even greater snack company. There is somewhat of a unified brand alignment because all of their products have color combinations of red, yellow, and/or blue and all the fonts are similar.

Their slogan “food for the fun of it!” and their logo which is a red ribbon wrapped around a sun shows that their personality is meant to be lively, fun, and tasteful. The image of the sun is also meant to show that the company is environmentally conscious.

The Frito-Lay brand definitely has the three personality principles: unique, authentic, and talkable which is evident in their product line, their history and their marketing and design. If Frito-Lay were a TV character, it would be Zac Morris from the 90’s hit sitcom Saved by the Bell. 

The company’s personality is nothing short of fun, friendly, and fresh, just like Zac. I think Frito-Lay’s personality is a clear reflection of their mission. To provide great quality snacks, protect the environment, and have fun while doing it.

The Frito-Lay Brand Packs Quite the "Crunch"

After my CM 502 class was over, I rummaged through my purse to find something that I needed. Not my car keys and not my phone, but my opened bag of Doritos that I wanted to snack on while I walked to my car. The chips were so spicy and crunchy that I continued to eat more on the drive back home.

This is what led to me choose Frito-Lay as my brand topic. Since I could remember, I’ve always loved chips; it’s my favorite snack. Period. There are so many established snack companies so why did I choose Frito-Lay? 

Well as a consumer, Frito-Lay is the only brand that comes to mind when I think of chips. When I peruse through the snack aisles at a grocery store, food market, or a Walgreens, Frito-Lay chips are impossible to miss! As stated on the company’s website (www.fritolay.com), Frito-Lay makes up a whopping 59% of the entire U.S. snack chip industry.

I first got introduced to Frito-Lay chips when I was 8 years old. I went on a school field trip to the
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago with my 4^th grade class and my bag of lunch contained a turkey sandwich, apple, Capri Sun Juice, and last but not least, a bag of Cheetos Flamin’ Hots.

The history of Frito-Lay dates back to 1932 when a man named C.E. Doolin decided to purchase a small chip manufacturing company called Fritos Corn Chips. In the same year, Herman W. Lay started the H.W. Lay & Company and in 1961, the Frito Company and the H.W Lay Company merged to form Frito-Lay, Inc. 

The mission of the Frito-Lay brand (which can be found here) is to become America’s favorite snack food company by supporting local farmers, investing in sustainability efforts, and using the highest quality ingredients. The company’s history does in fact, fall in line with their mission: Two entrepreneurs had a dream to make, sell, and distribute snacks that are of great quality as well as environmentally friendly, and the company is doing just that.

The products that Frito-Lay provide include: Lays, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Fritos, Sun Chips, Cracker Jack, Funyuns Onion Rings, Grandma’s Cookies, Rold Gold Pretzels, Ruffles, Munchies, and more. While making Sun Chips, Frito-Lay conserves energy by harnessing the power of the sun with the help of solar collectors in their Modesto, California facility. They’ve reduced their water use by 40% for each product bag since 1999 and have reduced their waste by reusing each shipping carton five to six times before recycling it.

Although Frito-Lay dominates the snack industry, that doesn’t mean their products are "complaint-free." In Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications, Argenti and Barnes say that the stakeholder’s trust in business institutions has dropped. That 81 percent of surveyed investors “did not have much confidence” in the executives heading these big corporations. On product review websites like www.pissedconsumer.com, Frito-Lay has 32 complaints in regards to food vendors, 13 for food, and 8 for food stores. 

Some of the review titles like “smaller bags, same price, “hair in my bag of Doritos”, and “incorrect calorie labeling” are a clear indication that there is a feeling of disappoint, distrust, and disgust from consumers that can’t be ignored--thanks to Web 2.0. Argenti and Barnes describe Web. 2.0 as: “the collaborative environment that facilitates the creation and exchange of user-generated content via dynamic channels, including blogs, wikis, and social networks,” (Pg. 11).

Overall, I think the public perceives the brand positively because it’s fun, friendly, and full of variety. Frito-Lay participates in social media, which enables “stakeholder empowerment” (Argenti & Barnes, Pg. 14). Their Facebook page has garnered over 2.34 million “likes” and their Twitter handle has over 118K followers and counting.

The good thing about Frito-Lay is that there is a snack for everyone. I think the biggest criticism they constantly receive is that the size of their products keep shrinking while the prices keep inflating. However, I believe that since the quality of their products are top-notch, their brand presence is consistent, and their bag designs are appealing, all stakeholder groups will continue to buy into what Frito-Lay has to offer. No matter how "light" a bag of Ruffles feel in our hands.